When Elijah opened his eyes again, he was no longer in an all-white space that looked so empty. The scene in front of him was a vast expanse of grass. Then, in the distance, Elijah could see a large wall surrounding a city.
"This is ...."
DING!
[User's soul has successfully merged safely with this new world. System will start collecting information so that User can get to know this world better.]
Elijah waited for a few moments before the familiar transparent screen reappeared in front of him.
[Rhodes Continent.
A continent inhabited by elves in the east, werebeasts in the west, dwarves in the north, and humans in the south. The Academy of Sword and Sorcery was established in the center of each race's border as a symbol of the four races' agreement. Magic and monsters were commonplace on this continent. Then, in five years, Rhodes Continent will be destroyed by the attack of the Demon King that appears every thousand years.]
[Main mission: Become the Main Hero
Defeat the Demon King and become true Hero of this continent.]
[Side mission: The Greatest Disciple
1. Enroll in the Academy of Sword and Sorcery to level up User ability.]
"Side mission? Will I get a reward if I complete the mission?"
Elijah couldn't help but ask when the system displayed the side mission he needed to complete. The system that Elijah knew would usually prepare a reward if the host completed the side mission given by the system. But when Elijah heard the system's answer, his hopes immediately sank to the bottom of the sea.
[Side missions are given to level up User before fighting the Demon King. No special rewards will be given unless User gets a reward from an NPC living in this world.]
"Those NPCs ... are they all people who live in this world?"
[Exactly. Help as many NPCs as possible to increase the possibility of being recognized as a hero and level up. If User is lucky, the NPCs will give rewards that are just as valuable as the rewards the system sets up for User.]
"Then, why do side missions have numbers while main missions don't?"
[A side mission with a number means that there are several stages that User must pass before the mission is declared complete. After User successfully passes mission number one, System will immediately update mission number 2, and so on.]
Elijah asked, and System continued to answer him with a mechanical voice that sounded flat and cold. The system's explanation was enough for Elijah to understand the basis of the assignment given by System. Now, the next thing Elijah had to worry about was his power in this new world.
"Ha... Then, can I see my current level?"
DING!
The transparent screen changed again, and what was written there really made Elijah unable to say anything to the trash system he had.
[Name] Elijah (17 years old)
[Level 3]
[EXP] 0/1500
[HP] 100/100
[MP] 100/100
[Stamina] 100/100
[Physical Skills] One-handed level 1, Light armor level 1
[Magic Skills] None
[Money] 10 gold coins, 15 silver coins, 25 copper coins
Elijah knew this game would not be categorized as having a hell of difficulty if he could complete it easily. But sending him as a basic-level player with an overly ordinary ability felt a little outrageous. The system said that the Rhodes Continent would be invaded by the Demon King in five years. That meant Elijah would have to become a super strong player in that short amount of time.
Elijah couldn't use cheats, and time seemed to run like earth in this new world. Elijah took a deep breath to calm himself down. He didn't finish 1000 games without gaining anything. As long as Elijah struggled hard, he believed leveling up was not that difficult in the game world.
"Then, how can I go to the Academy of Sword and Sorcery from this place?"
[User does not need to worry. System had placed User near Arlo City, the city that housed the famous Academy of Sword and Sorcery on the Rhodes Continent.]
Elijah stared at the city wall he saw earlier, then finally realized that the wall he saw was the wall that separated Arlo City from the surrounding green land.
"Alright. I can do it."
Elijah was a teenager who had been confined to his home since the death of his parents. So, when he faced the outside world again after a long time, Elijah could not help but feel nervous in his heart. Over and over again. Elijah repeated the words that all the people living in this world were not as real as those living on earth. These people were just NPCs destined to help his mission. Even if they looked like living beings, they were just a bunch of data in a game.
With that kind of thought in his brain, Elijah finally didn't feel too nervous anymore. Now that he sufficiently understood the outline of the world he lived in, Elijah began to focus on paying attention to his appearance.
Unlike the crumpled pajamas Elijah had worn, his body was clad in mid-century clothing that looked quite basic in the game world after that. Elijah's clothes did not look like armor that could protect him from enemy attacks. But compared to his embarrassing pajamas, wearing such clothes was much better for Elijah.
Furthermore, there was a sword and a book that looked like a magic book when Elijah saw his waist. Elijah didn't know if being both a mage and a swordsman was common in this new world. But from the initial equipment alone, Elijah could tell that System wanted him to master both to fight the Demon King in the future.
After all, he would need superhuman skills to complete this difficult game. Elijah ignored the simple sword hanging from his waist and moved to pick up the magic book next to him.
The teenager stared at the red-bound book for a few moments, then opened the cover with confidence. Normally, players could understand new skills as soon as they finished reading a magic book. But in this new world, Elijah was still a little surprised as rows of information seemed to be forcibly injected into his brain after he opened the book.
His head hurt, and the pain only stopped when Elijah finally understood what information was being forced into his mind. Elijah looked down at his hand, which was no longer holding the red-bound book. Apparently, once he could understand the concept of how to use fire magic, the book would disappear by itself.
"System, please reopen my status."
DING!
[Name] Elijah (17 years old)
[Level 3]
[EXP] 0/1500
[HP] 100/100
[MP] 100/100
[Stamina] 100/100
[Physical Skills] One-handed level 1, light armor level 1
[Magic Skill] Fire level 1
[Money] 10 gold coins, 15 silver coins, 25 copper coins
When Elijah saw the new writing in his skill column, the teenager couldn't stop being excited about a while. If using magic was indeed this easy, Elijah thought he might as well learn magic first to raise his level.
"System, can I learn any magic this easy?" asked Elijah. System answered his question quickly but lowered the enthusiasm that was burning in Elijah's heart for the second time.
[Every magic is learned in the same way. However, books for intermediate magic are hard to find, let alone upper-level magic. To get other magic books, users can buy them from magic book merchants or do various quests to find other magic books.]
In the end, all the system did was encourage him to do every mission he could get. Elijah immediately closed the transparent screen, then prepared to try out the abilities he now had.
Elijah was unsure how to use magic and only tried according to his knowledge while playing games before. Elijah looked at a rabbit that jumped not far from where he was standing and then subconsciously looked at the status window of the animal.
[Name] Wild Rabbit (1 year old)
[Level 1]
[HP] 100/100
[Stamina] 200/300
[Skill] Long jump level 2
Elijah saw that the rabbit had almost the same level as him and decided that it could be his first target in the new world.
"Fire."
Elijah focused his gaze on the rabbit and then chanted the magic he had just learned. Elijah considered his own eyes to be the navigator of his magic. That way, the magic he cast should hit the target on the spot.
WHOOSH!
Flames shot out of Elijah's hand, hitting the rabbit squarely. Elijah's sudden attack startled the rabbit, and it ran away quickly. But as long as Elijah's eyes didn't leave the rabbit, the flames would keep hitting the poor animal until it was fully engulfed in flames.
His first target was dead, and Elijah was satisfied that his theory about how to use magic was proven correct. Elijah opened his status window again to see how much mana was used for fire magic in 1 minute.
60 mana points had been lost after he finished using fire magic. That means, 1 mana point will be taken every second he uses fire magic. The results Elijah saw completely matched his status as a pathetic level 1 player.
Fortunately, his EXP column had a lift of 1 this time. It seemed that killing animals could also count as experience. Elijah looked at the vast expanse of grass around him, then decided to practice before going to Arlo City.
By the time Elijah arrived at Arlo City, the teenager looked like an undead as he had just emptied his MP and stamina in battle. His HP was no less pathetic after Elijah accidentally encountered a level 9 wolf while he was hunting wild rabbits. Just one attack had taken half of his HP. If only the wolf hadn't been injured when Elijah found him, he would probably die before accomplishing anything in this world.
After Elijah got that big hit, he finally agreed that avoiding enemies with levels above his own was his best option for now.
The good news is that Elijah managed to reach level 7 in just one hunt. Killing rabbits takes a long time to level up. But thanks to the wolf's arrival, Elijah managed to level up two levels at once just for killing it.
Each time Elijah managed to level up, 100 points were awarded and could be used to increase his HP, MP, or stamina. Elijah used the 200 points he got from the overall reward of 400 points to increase his HP, and 100 points to increase his MP and stamina.
Now Elijah's HP is 300, while his MP and stamina are both 200. Elijah intends to increase his MP and stamina by the same amount. That way, he wouldn't have trouble using magic or get tired quickly when using a sword.
Elijah queued up like the other arrivals and waited until it was his turn to enter the gates of Arlo City. Elijah relied on his observation skills to figure out how the checkpoint worked. He was almost nervous because he wasn't sure he had any definite identity in this new world. But fortunately, the inspection procedure was not as complicated as he thought.
Those arriving only needed to provide basic information and visiting taxes to the gatekeepers guarding the gates of Arlo City. Elijah waited until it was his turn to face the gatekeeper of Arlo City.
"Immigrant or native?"
"Immigrant."
Elijah answered the gatekeeper's question calmly, so the gatekeeper didn't suspect him at all. The gatekeeper gave him the same form as the other immigrants, and Elijah took it without hesitation.
Elijah was relieved to find that he could actually read the writing in this other world. Elijah filled out the form carefully, then handed it back to the gatekeeper when he finished filling it in.
The gatekeeper took the form carefully, then smiled when he saw there were no problems with Elijah's answers. The gatekeeper made way for Elijah to enter Arlo City. But before that, Elijah didn't forget to pay the visiting tax that Arlo City imposed on all visitors.
One gold coin seemed to be a reasonable price when one wanted to enter the city that was the center of activity for the four races on the Rhodes Continent. Elijah took out one gold coin from the money bag on his waist and gave it to the gatekeeper.
"Please enjoy your stay in Arlo City."
After hearing the words of the gatekeeper, Elijah passed through and finally managed to enter Arlo City safely despite being exhausted.